Union Government set up Tax Administration Reform Commission under Parthasarathy Shome

The Union Government of India on 26 August 2013 set up a commission under the chairmanship of Parthasarathy Shome to review tax laws and suggest ways for a stable and non-adversarial tax administration.

The seven-member Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) will have a 18-month tenure to suggest various measures including an appropriate organisational structure for tax governance.

Commission members

• Chairman: Parthasarathy Shome.
• Full-time members: Y G Parande and Sunita Kaila
• Part-time members: M K Zutshi, S S N Moorhty, M R Diwakar and S Mahalingam

The Terms of Reference of the Commission

• The Commission will review the existing mechanism and business processes of tax governance and recommend appropriate measures. It will also suggest measures for deepening and widening of the tax base and enforce better tax compliance.
• The commission will review the existing mechanism of dispute resolution covering time and compliance cost and recommend measures for strengthening the same. This includes domestic and international taxation.
• The Commission will also look into enhancing the predictive analysis to detect and prevent tax and economic offences.
• The Commission will recommend measures to strengthen inter-agency information sharing between CBDT, CBEC, FIU, Enforcement Directorate, and also with the banking and financial sector.
• The commission would also look at mechanism for grievance redressal, timely disbursal of tax refunds and duty drawbacks.

The committee, which was proposed by the Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Budget 2013-14 seeks to review the application of tax policies and tax laws and submit periodic reports that can be implemented to strengthen the capacity of the tax system.